Javier Villa Paul Ricard test notes 2009-03-13

The last of the three days of tests for the GP2 Series at France's Paul
Ricard track was again very profitable for Javier Villa, who finished the
day with the third best time in the afternoon session completing a
perfectly scheduled work ...

The last of the three days of tests for the GP2 Series at France's Paul
Ricard track was again very profitable for Javier Villa, who finished the
day with the third best time in the afternoon session completing a
perfectly scheduled work program.

For the third day in a row, the 13 teams and 26 drivers of the GP2 Series
were testing at the track in the Cote d'Azur on a different circuit
layout. On this occasion it was 2D, the shortest and characterised by its
heavy braking and acceleration areas, which was perfect to focus the work
on the ideal utilisation of the two tyre compounds supplied by
Bridgestone this year for the category. This was the principal aim for
Javier Villa and his team, Super Nova, and the result at the end of the
day was wholly satisfactory, as the Spaniard was lapping consistently and
always among the fastest, doing a good number of laps at high speed with
very good results regarding tyre wear, a factor that is going to be
crucial this season, with a more powerful engine combined with the
hardest tyre compound that was in use last year no longer being
available.

Beside achieving the aims in the test regarding the setup of his Dallara,
Villa was also setting some excellent lap times, both in the morning and
afternoon sessions, being fifth fastest in the first session and
finishing the day with the third best time on the time-sheet. As a
summary of the three test days, Javier has always been among the five
fastest, showing not only speed but, especially, a very high level of
consistency that allows him to look forward to the new season with
confidence.

Before the first race of the year, the GP2 Series will have another test
session, from the 23rd to the 25th of March at the Montmelo circuit, in
what will be the last chance for all the teams to complete the setup of
their cars before the start of the championship at the beginning of May,
also at the Catalan track.

Javier Villa own words: "We have been ahead again, fifth in the morning
and third in the afternoon and especially we have been working a lot on
the use of the tyres, thinking about their duration for the races. I
believe that it is something that is going to be very important this
year, with the more powerful engine, and I think that we are one of the
teams that have been working most and best at it. Today we have done more
than 70 laps and now there are other tests to come in Montmelo in two
weeks where it will be necessary to continue in this line of always being
amongst the fastest."